At least 28 people have been killed and 34 others injured in clashes between al-Shabab fighters and African Union (AU) troops in war-torn Somalia.

The clashes erupted after government forces backed by AU troops launched attacks on the districts of Hodan and Hawl Wadag, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire with al-Shabab fighters, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The troops will launch new offensives against the al-Shabab fighters in the Galgudud region, according to Ahlu Sunna officials.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since former dictator Siad Barre was overthrown by warlords in 1991.

The Somali government controls only a small part of Mogadishu. Lack of coordination among its forces, who are poorly trained and seldom paid, has long prohibited the government from being able to wage a full-scale war against the opposition forces.

Fighting, famine and disease have led to the deaths of nearly one million people in the African country and crushed all government efforts at restoring security.

There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia. More than 300,000 of them are sheltered in Mogadishu, alone.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, most of the IDPs live in squalid conditions at makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia.